Institute for Baseball Studies to celebrate grand opening at Whittier College
By Terry Cannon
The Institute for Baseball Studies, the first humanities-based research center of its kind associated with a college or university in the United States, will celebrate its grand opening on the campus of Whittier College on Friday, January 16, 2015. The festivities will commence with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 12:30 p.m. in Room 310 on the third floor of the Mendenhall Building, Whittier College’s central administration facility, at 13406 E. Philadelphia St., Whittier, CA 90608.
In addition to the ribbon cutting, brief comments will be made by SABR members Terry Cannon, Executive Director of the Baseball Reliquary and co-Director of the Institute for Baseball Studies with Joseph L. Price; Charles Adams, Professor of English at Whittier College; and Mike McBride, Professor of Political Science at Whittier College. Adams and McBride are Associate Directors of the Institute.
There will also be brief remarks from Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, who represents California’s 38th Congressional district, which includes the City of Whittier; SABR member Toni Mollett Harsh, grand-niece of the beloved Casey Stengel, and founder and director of the Casey Stengel Baseball Center, based in Reno, Nevada; and Tom Keefe, founder and director of the Eddie Gaedel Society, based in Spokane, Washington.
Refreshments, including hot dogs, peanuts, and Cracker Jack, will be served. Attendees are also invited to view the Institute for Baseball Studies’ current exhibition, “Long Road to Glory: The Harlem Globetrotters and the House of David,” on view in the Wardman Library beginning January 10, 2015. Also included will be a raffle of baseball books and memorabilia.
The Institute for Baseball Studies is a collaborative effort of Whittier College administrators and faculty members, and the Baseball Reliquary, a Pasadena-based nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to fostering an appreciation of America’s art and culture through the prism of baseball history and to exploring the national pastime’s unparalleled creative possibilities.
The Institute for Baseball Studies’ research collection includes books and periodicals, the papers of distinguished baseball historians and journalists, the Baseball Reliquary’s organizational history and documentation, and a variety of materials that will support multifaceted and interdisciplinary studies at Whittier College, and will prompt the exchange of ideas, the development of research initiatives, and the creation of public symposia and programs highlighting baseball’s significance in American culture.
In addition to books, photographs, and paper ephemera, the Institute for Baseball Studies will serve as the repository for the following collections:
- Author and historian Paul Dickson’s research materials and correspondence related to three of his major manuscripts: The Dickson Baseball Dictionary; The Joy of Keeping Score: How Scoring the Game Has Influenced and Enhanced the History of Baseball; and Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick. Published originally in 1989, The Dickson Baseball Dictionary ranks as the most authoritative and comprehensive guide to baseball terminology ever compiled. Now available in its third edition, the book was awarded the 1989 Macmillan-SABR Award for Baseball Research and has been hailed as “a staggering piece of scholarship” by the Wall Street Journal.
- The Tony Salin Research Collection includes photographs and reference materials from the late baseball author and historian, who dedicated much of his life to the study of unsung ballplayers and forgotten aspects of baseball history. Included in this collection are research materials for his book, Baseball’s Forgotten Heroes: One Fan’s Search for the Game’s Most Interesting Overlooked Players, highlighting baseball icons such as Pete Gray, Chuck Connors, Bill Lange, Buzz Arlett, and Frenchy Bordagaray.
- SABR member Tim Wendel’s research files for his books Summer of ’68: The Season that Changed Baseball—and America—Forever and High Heat: The Secret History of the Fastball and the Improbable Search for the Fastest Pitcher of All Time. Wendel, who teaches writing at The Johns Hopkins University, was a founding editor of USA Today Baseball Weekly.
- Henry Goldich Collection, an archive of Los Angeles Dodgers programs, scorecards, and ephemera dating from 1961 through the early 1970s.
- The Baseball Reliquary’s organizational history and documentation from its founding in 1996 to the present, including news releases, flyers, miscellaneous clippings, catalogues, and correspondence. Included are extensive files for its Shrine of the Eternals, the Baseball Reliquary’s alternative hall of fame, including all of the original ballots submitted by Baseball Reliquary members since annual voting began in 1999.
The Institute for Baseball Studies will be accessible to students, scholars, and the general public. Beginning Friday, January 23, the Institute will be open to the public on Fridays between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. during the school year and at times when the Mendenhall Building is open. The Institute will be open on other days by appointment only.
For further information, contact Institute for Baseball Studies co-Directors Joseph L. Price by e-mail at jprice@whittier.edu or by phone at (562) 907-4803; or Terry Cannon by e-mail at terymar@earthlink.net or by phone at (626) 791-7647. We also invite you to visit, and to become a member of, the Institute for Baseball Studies Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/347883628706532. The Institute for Baseball Studies is supported, in part, by a POET Internship provided by Whittier College and by a grant to the Baseball Reliquary from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
INSTITUTE FOR BASEBALL STUDIES GRAND OPENING
Date & Time: Friday, January 16, 2015, 12:30 p.m.
Location: Mendenhall Building Room 310, Whittier College
Address: 13406 E. Philadelphia St., Whittier, CA 90608
Originally published: January 15, 2015. Last Updated: January 15, 2015.